Mop head



Ja 67 E. B. BENJAMIN 3,300,804

MOP HEAD Filed Aug. 2, 1965 ID r0 Inventor BY E. BURTON BENJAMIN ATTYS.

FIG. 3

United States Patent Ofiice iififidfid i Patented Jan. 1367 3,300,804 MO? HEAD E. Burton Benjamin, Highland Park, 111., assignor to American Uniform Company, sometimes doing business as Dust-Tex Company, Cleveland, Tenn., a corporation of Minnesota Filed Aug. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 476,511 2 Claims. (Cl. 15--147) The present invention relates to floor mops and the like, and particularly to improvements in mop heads of a character especially well-adapted for use in mops for the dusting or swabbing of floors and other surfaces in commercial and public buildings.

It is well known that mops that are to be used in commercial and public buildings should be sturdy and durable. At the same time, however, it is highly desirable that the moip heads which carry the swab portions of the mops be reasonably inexpensive to make and yet relatively heavy in weight, and that they be provided with suitable means by which the soiled swabs may be readily replaced with clean swabs. Manufacturers, in the past, have had difficulty in devising mop heads, and particularly dust mop heads of a commercial type, in which these desirable characteristics are suitably correlated. There is a defi nite relationship in dust mops and the like between the weight or downward pressure exerted and the soil pickup ability of the mop. As the weight or downward pressure increases, the soil pickup efiiciency tends also to increase. However, because of the overriding importance that the mop heads be relatively inexpensive, manufacturers have heretofore found it necessary to sacrifice both weight, efiiciency, and, to some extent, durability in order to produce mop heads at satisfactorily competitive prices.

One of the important objects of the present invention is to provide a highly-improved rnop head which ideally embodies all of the desirable characteristics of durability, strength, weight, and interchangeability of swa'bs, and yet which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a mop head having all of the foregoing qualities, and which also provides greater efficiency in its soil pickup properties than previously-known mop heads.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a mop head of the foregoing character wherein the swa'b to be carried by the head is backed up and is fully supported in a manner to promote and improve its soil pick-up efficiency.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a mop head having all of the previously-mentioned desirable qualities and wherein, despite its inexpensive and easilymanufactured nature, provides adequate weight that is substantially evenly distributed throughout the map head when the mop is supported upon a floor or the like, so as to provide maximum soil pick-up efiiciency in all parts of the swab carried by the head.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, taken with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a mop head assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention, a fragmentary portion of a swab being shown in broken lines on the mop head at the left-hand portion of the figure;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the mop head with the representation of the swab omitted;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the under side of the central frame portion of the mop head, with a bottom plate being cut away so as to better illustrate the parts in the interior of the central frame portion;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is anenlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 55 in FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawing, the mop head there shown is comprised of a central frame portion 10, to which a mop handle may be pivotally mounted. In its preferred form this central frame portion is comprised of a cast metal "box having a su'bstantially fiat upper surface 11 upon which there are integrally formed a pair of upwardlyextending spaced-apart trunnions 12, the trunnions pivotally carrying therebetween a link 13 which itself has a further transverse trunnion 14 formed thereon. It will be thus understood that the trunnions 12, the link 13, and the transverse trunnion 14 provide a universal joint by which a mop handle may be attached to the central frame portion of the mop head. The imop handle, in a wellknown manner, may be provided with a shaft (not shown), which will pivotally ride in the bore of the trunnion 14.

The box-like central frame portion 10 of the mop head is recessed on its under side, thereby providing downwardly-extending front and rear walls 15 and 16 and opposite end walls 17 and 18. These walls are best illustrated in FIG. 3 wherein the inner or under surface of the top wall 11 of the central frame element is designated by the numeral 11a Extending laterally from opposite sides of the central frame element 10, there is a pair of looplike wings 20 and 21, preferably fabricated of steel wire or the like, so that they are capable of rapid and inexpensive manufacture and, at the same time, are sturdy and durable. The win-g 20, it will be seen in FIG. 2, includes a pair of outwardly-projecting arms 20a and 20b which are turned slightly in a converging direction adjacent their outer ends, their outer ends being joined by an integral transverse portion 20c. The wing 21 is of similar shape and configuration, the wing 21 having a pair of outwardlyextending arms 21a and 21b joined at their outer ends by an integral transverse portion 21c. These Wings 20 and 21 are secured to the central frame portion 10 in a manher which will now be described.

In the central frame portion 10 of the rnop head, it will be observed from FIG. 3 that the end wall 17 has a pair of slots 22 and 23 formed therein. Inwardly of these slots the central frame element has a pair of down wardly-extending bosses 24 and 25 integrally formed thereon and respectively spaced from the inner surfaces of the front and rear walls 15 and 16 a distance substantially equal to the widths of the slots 22 and 23, thereby providing, in conjunction with the inner surfaces of the walls 15 and 16, longitudinally-extending recesses for receiving the inner end portions of the legs 20a and 20b of the wing 20. The central portion of the upper wall 11 of the central frame element 10 is recessed, as at 11b (FIG. 2), thereby forming a large downwardly-extending lug 26 in the interior of the box-like frame element 10 (FIG. 3). The lower right-hand corner of this large downwardly-extending lug 26, as viewed in FIG. 3, is joined to the inner surface of the wall 16 by a web 27, and the upper right-hand corner of the lug 26, as viewed in FIG. 3, is joined to the inner surface of the front wall 15, by a similar web .28, these two webs being integral with the casing which preferably comprises the body of the central frame element. The web 27 is recessed at 27a, and the web 28 is similarly recessed at 28a to provide seats for the legs 20a and 20b of the wing 20 adjacent their inner ends. The innermost ends 20d and 20:: of the respective legs 20a and 20b of the wing 20 are turned inwardly, as illustrated in FIG. 3 and. are pivotally received between a downwardly-extending edge of the large boss 26 and secondary bosses 30 and 31 integrally formed on the under surface 11a of the top wall 11 of the central frame element.

The wall 18 of the central frame element (FIG. 3) is slotted at 32 and 33 to receive the inner ends of the legs 21a and 21b of the wing 21, and immediately inwardly of these slots there are formed spaced-apart bosses 34 and 35 for receiving therebetween the legs 21a and 21b, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Inwardly of the opening between the bosses 34 and 35 there are provided downwardly-eXtendin-g webs 36 and 37, which correspond to the recessed portions 27a and 28a of the webs 27 and 28, the outer edges of the webs 36 and 37 serving to receive and act as stops for the legs 21a .and 21b of the wing element 21 adjacent their inner ends. It will be noted, however, that the slots 32 and 33 are not as deep as the slots 22 and 23 formed in the wall 17, and the outer edges of the webs 36 and 3'7 are not disposed as deeply within the recessed interior of the central frame element 10 as are the recessed portions 27a and 28a of the webs 27 and 28. Thus, the inner ends of the legs 21a and 21b of the wing 21 are permitted to overlie the end portions of the legs 20a and 20b of the wing 20, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The innermost ends 21d and 21e of the legs 21a and 21b of the wing 21 are inturned, as shown in FIG. 3, and reside between pairs of bosses 40 and 41 formed on the under surface of the large boss 26.

The previously-described parts of the interior portion of the central frame element 10 are-largely enclosed by a bottom plate 42 which may be secured in place by a plurality of screws 43 appropriately threaded in openings 44 provided in a plurality of bosses 45 formed on the interior of the central frame element 16. The front and rear edges of the plate 42 are arranged to overlie that portion of the inner ends of the legs 21a and 211) which are disposed within the central frame element 10, but these edges are arranged to clear the inner end portions of the legs 20a and 20b of the wing 20, so that the wing 20 may be pivoted about the axis defined by the innermost ends 20d and 20a of the wing 20. The normal position of the wing 20 with respect to the central frame element 10 and the wing 21 is illustrated by solid lines in FIG. 1, broken lines being used in FIG. 1 to illustrate how the wing 20 may be pivoted.

The wing 20 may be retained in its normal position by a latch arrangement such as the one illustrated in FIG. 3. This latch arrangement, or assembly, is comprised of a manually-operated lever which may extend outwardly through a recess 51 provided along the lowermost edge of the wall 17, the outermost end of the lever 50 being curved or having some other suitable configuration, so that it may easily be gripped by the fingers. The lever 50 is pivotally mounted on a stud 52 which may be integrally formed upon and extended downwardly from the inner surface 11a of the top wall 11 of the frame element 10.

The innermost end of the lever 50 pivotally receives an inner end of a latch member 53. Any suitable pivotal connection between the inner end of the lever 50 and the latch member 53 may be em loyed. In the present instance, the pivotal connection is comprised of a downwardly-extending lug 54 formed on the lever 50 which resides in an opening 55 formed in the latch member 53. The latch member 53 is adapted to slide upon a flat surface 56 and between the lug 45 and another lug 57, the latch member 53 being held against vertical displacement by the surface 56 and the inner surface of the plate 42. The outermost end of the latch member 53, when the latching assembly is in its normal locked condition, as illustrated in FIG. 3, underlies the leg 20a of the wing 20, thereby retaining that leg in its normal position shown in FIG. 1. A corresponding and somewhat similar latch member 60 is employed for retaining the leg 2% of the wing 20 in place. a This latch member 60 is pivotally attached at its inner end to the lever 50 outwardly of the stud 52, and the latch member 60 is arranged to ride on a surface 61 between the boss 45 and the inner surface of 4 the wall 17, the latch member 60 being prevented from displacement vertically by the surface 61 and the inner surface of the plate 42. The plate 42 retains the inner ends of the legs 21a and 21b in place on the webs 36 and 37 and between the lugs 40 and 41, and these inner ends, in turn, retain the inner ends 200! and 20s in pivotal position between the lugs 30 and 31 and the large lug 26.

With the latch assembly illustrated and described above, it will be appreciated that, although the parts of the latch assembly are shown in FIG. 3 in position to retain the wing 20 in its normal condition, the wing 29 may be permitted to pivot about the axis defined by its innermost ends 20d and 20e simply by first pivoting the lever 50 in a clockwise direction about the stud 52, as viewed in FIG. 3. This may be accomplished manually by gripping and moving the outermost exposed end of the lever 50, thereby causing the outermost ends of the latch members 53 and 60 to be retracted from their underlying positions with respect to the legs 20a and 20b of the wing 20.

The wing 21 which, as previously indicated, is preferably formed of wire, is provided with a board element 65 having a substantially-planar under surface 66 and which has a periphery substantially corresponding in size and shape to the peripheral configuration of the wing element. The board element 65 is preferably formed of resilient plastic, such as polypropylene, and the board element has formed along its opposite side edges and along its end, upwardly-extending, spaced-apart, longitudinally-directed projections 67 and 68 for receiving therebetween the respective legs 21a and 21b of the wing, and for also receiving the end element 210 of the wing. The bottom of the slot or slots defined by the upwardlydirected projections 67 and 68 is rounded, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the inner surface of the upwardly-directed projection 68 is curved so as to conform substantially to the radius of the 'wire from which the wing 21 is fabricated. It will also be noted from FIGS. 4 and 5 that the uppermost end of the upwardly-directed projection 68 is curved slightly over the slot so as to partially close the same. The board 65 is thus applied to the wing 21 by pressing the slots provided by the projections 67 and 68 onto the legs 21a and 21b and onto the transverse portion 21c of the wing, the uppermost end of the projection 68 being carnmed outwardly during this operation, so that the legs 21a and 21b and the transverse section 21c snap downwardly into the slots provided between the projections. The board 65 is thus removably secured upon the wing 21 in the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, with the inner surfaces of the projections 67 and 68 resiliently gripping the wire or rod from which the wing 21 is fabricated. It will be observed in FIGS. 4 and 5 that the plane of the under surface 66 of the board 65 is disposed slightly below the plane defined by the under side of the wing 21. For rigidifying purposes, the board 65 is provided with a plurality of transverse upstanding ribs 69 which extend from the upwardly-directed projection 67, on one side of the board, to the corresponding projection on the opposite side of the board.

The wing 20 is provided with a board 70 which is, in every respect, identical to the board 65. Accordingly, the description heretofore given of the board 65 and its application to the wing 21 applies equally with respect to the board 70 and its application to the wing 20.

The mop head hereinabove described is adapted to receive a swab of well-known construction which has an over-all length corresponding to the total width of the present mop head and is provided on its under side with a plurality of shaggy yarn-like elements 76. At its op osite end portions, the swab 75 is provided on its upper surface with pockets 77 for receiving the wings 20 and 21 with the boards 65 and 70 thereon, the pockets 77 opening toward each other. Accordingly, the swab 77, which need not be described in greaterdetail, inasmuch as it is an item well-known in the trade, is applied to 5 the present mop head by slipping the pockets 77 over the outer end portions of the wings 20 and 21 while the wing 20 is pivoted out of its normal position, that is, in a clockwise direction with respect to the normal position thereof shown in solid lines in FIG. 1. After the pockets 77 of the swab 75 have been slipped onto the wings 20 and 2001, the wing 20 is pivoted back to its normal position, and the latch assembly, previously described, is moved to its latching condition illustrated in FIG. 3. This locks the parts of the mop head in place and causes the swab 75 to be retained on the mop head.

It will be observed that the boards 65 and 70 add weight to the simple and inexpensive wings 20 and 21, and they also, in effect, occupy all of the area encompassed by the loop-like wire wings 20 and 21. The under surface 66 of the two boards 65 and 70, therefore, back up and provide substantially-solid backing surfaces for the under side or soil-receiving portion of the swab, thereby very materially increasing the soil pick-up efliciency of the swab. The boards 65 and 70 also evenly distribute the weight of the entire mop head assembly over most of the area of the swab, so that this area has a substantiallyuniform soil pick-up efliciency.

Although only one embodiment of the present invention has been shown and illustrated, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the mop head without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A mop head comprising, a frame to which a mop handle may be secured, a Wire wing element secured to said frame and having a loop-like configuration, a resilient plastic board element having a substantially planar underside and having a periphery substantially corresponding in size and shape to the peripheral configuration of said wing element, and means integral with said board element providing an upwardly facting peripheral groove thereon having resilient walls for grippingly receiving therebetween said wing element and for thereby securing said board element to the underside of said wing element,

said Wing element with said board element secured thereto being adapted for effecting connection with a floor swab or the like, the substantially planar underside of said board serving as a flat back-up surface for said swab to increase the cleaning efficiency thereof.

2. A mop head comprising, a frame to which a mop handle may be secured, a wire wing element secured to said frame and having a loop-like configuration, a relatively thin, resilient plastic board element having a substantially planar underside and having a periphery substantially corresponding in size and shape to the peripheral configuration of said wing element, upwardly extending means integrally formed on said board element providing an upwardly facing peripheral groove thereon having resilient walls for grippingly receiving therebetween the wire of said wing element and for thereby securing said board element to the underside of said wing element, and ribs integrally formed on the upper side of said board element for rigidifying the same, said wing element with said board element secured thereto being adapted for effecting connection with a floor swab or the like, the substantially planar underside of said board serving as a fiat back-up surface for said swab to increase the cleaning efiiciency thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 973,612 10/1910 Arrant 15-120 1,515,275 11/1924 ringle 151 14 1,802,889 4/1931 Flagstad 15-228 2,648,859 8/1953 Flagstad 15229.2 2,877,478 3/1959 Kohlwey et a1. 15-1191 2,975,451 3/1961 McPherson 15147.0 3,056,989 10/1962 Murphy 15-231 FOREIGN PATENTS 792,496 10/ 1935 France.

498,929 1/1939 Great Britain.

928,986 6/1963 Great Britain.

DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner. 

1. A MOP HEAD COMPRISING, A FRAME TO WHICH A MOP HANDLE MAY BE SECURED, A WIRE WING ELEMENT SECURED TO SAID FRAME AND HAVING A LOOP-LIKE CONFIGURATION, A RESILIENT PLASTIC BOARD ELEMENT HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR UNDERSIDE AND HAVING A PERIPHERY SUBSTANTIALLY CORRESPONDING IN SIZE AND SHAPE TO THE PERIPHERAL CONFIGURATION OF SAID WING ELEMENT, AND MEANS INTEGRAL WITH SAID BOARD ELEMENT PROVIDING AN UPWARDLY FACTING PERIPHERAL GROOVE THEREON HAVING RESILIENT WALLS FOR GRIPPINGLY RECEIVING THEREBETWEEN SAID WING ELEMENT AND FOR THEREBY SECURING SAID BOARD ELEMENT TO THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID WING ELEMENT, SAID WING ELEMENT WITH SAID BOARD ELEMENT SECURED THERETO BEING ADAPTED FOR EFFECTING CONNECTION WITH A FLOOR SWAB OR THE LIKE, THE SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR UNDERSIDE OF SAID BOARD SERVING AS A FLAT BACK-UP SURFACE FOR SAID SWAB TO INCREASE THE CLEANING EFFICIENCY THEREOF. 